school of foundation

As a result of strong project management skills, our Foundation students pulled together a successful sustainable community project at the Community N U project-based competition. The impressive outcome generated from their project won them the First Prize, awarded by Soroptimist International Club of Bangsar (SICB) & the Soroptimist International of Shah Alam (SISA).



Our student teams prepared 2 projects, that were focused on helping the community by applying the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN). One of the projects was to teach life skills to orphanages and old folks’ homes, whereas the other was to teach single & young mothers to upcycle unwanted products to sustain their living.

Prior to the final presentation of their outcomes, our students went through an intensive training session as they were taught on funds management, events management and leadership skills in order to utilize the seed money provided, to achieve the best outcome possible. A total of 14 students took part in the workshops & the competition from Foundation & Diploma programmes, under the coordination of Ms Ruthira, Ms Zafeena & Ms Cynthia from the School of Foundation.

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It was not just about the victory or the prizes won, but the experience as well. Our pre-university students enjoyed the process of attaining new skills throughout the project – these were important management skills that can aid them in being an outstanding university student and beyond. We were glad to see them embarking onto this opportunity!

Apart from their knowledge attained from classroom encounters, our students learned more about the environment through a meaningful outing held recently at Bukit Kiara.

Under the guidance of their lecturers, Aziah Abdollah, Tulasi Sathyabama and Cynthia Paul together with the KL and RSC Hiking Group, 70 students of the School of Foundation participated in a cleanup mission together with another 70 passionate members of the public, to care for the environment and to contribute efforts of beautifying the city. 

It was shocking to see the heaps of rubbish cleared from the forests; the efforts made by our students and the volunteers were impressive, as they cleared out the rubbish scattered around Bukit Kiara. They’ve spent significant energy hiking the trails, while collecting and carrying the trash down the hill. It was definitely not an easy task to accomplish; Kudos to the participants for their perseverance and dedicated efforts!



​We have always put an emphasis on loving our green environment, to protect the environment and to preserve our lush, green forests. This time, the School of Foundation has definitely made significant changes to the surroundings of Bukit Kiara by participating in this activity. Despite the physical burnout afterward, our students learned so much from the experience and had managed to establish new friendships with the hikers, in which their communication skills had significantly improved while participating in the good cause.

The School of Foundation (SoF) organised a trip to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) on Saturday, 9 May 2015, to participate in the Graduan Aspire 500 Conference, which spanned from Saturday, 9 May 2015 to Sunday, 10 May 2015. A total of 50 students attended the conference, together with 2 lecturers from the School of Foundation.

At the conference, students were given the opportunity to meet the panel of speakers, which was made up of industry experts and leaders, such as Datuk Johan Idris (Managing Partner of KPMG), Johan Mahmood Merican (CEO of Talent Corporation Malaysia), YBhg’ Dato Georg Fischer (CEO of Tesco Malaysia), Lai Tak Meng (HR Director of Gamuda) and Abbas Saad (Sports Presenter). Apart from sharing their experience and expertise in the industry, the panel also gave valuable advices to the students, with regards to the expectations employers have in the current job market. 

At the end of the conference, a QnA session was held; where only 10 students were selected to ask questions to the panel of CEOs. 3 students from APU were selected, in which they seized the golden opportunity to obtain more knowledge on how to increase one’s employability in the current job market.

The conference was very beneficial to the students who attended; as they gained a lot of knowledge by listening to the valuable experiences of the panel of speakers. 

The APU School of Foundation (SoF) since 2016 has been a caring supporter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Ampang animal shelter. Over the years, SoF has encouraged students to join SPCA’s Pet Care Program - a program which teaches quality pet care skills to volunteers.

Upon graduating from this program, our students diligently volunteer their time at the SPCA, namely taking care of and rehabilitating animals that have been abused and require a lot of comfort and care. Since its launch, more than 400 students have participated and volunteered at SPCA.  

SoF students have regularly volunteered at SPCA events as well with the most recent being the Dogathon marathon at UPM on 24th February 2019. Students managed to complete the 2 km obstacle course and helped SPCA create awareness on their goals among dog lovers who participated in the event.

SoF has been an avid supporter of SPCA’s noble efforts. Last year, our students organised an awareness and fundraising week, while SPCA also came to conduct talks on animal cruelty and spread awareness on how students can help to prevent and report such incidents to the authorities. During the event, RM 3,000 was raised for the SPCA Stray Free Selangor Fund. Over the past 3 years, SoF has also donated more than RM 20,000 in food, treats, leashes, harness and medication. 

“The love for all living creatures is the noblest attitude of men“ – Charles Darwin
 
The School of Foundation (SoF) has for a long time been a caring supporter of the SPCA Ampang. This CSR activity has been ongoing since March 2016 where more than 150 students of the APU School of Foundation have participated actively in the SPCA Pet Care Program - a program which teaches quality pet care skills to volunteers. Upon graduating from this program, our students diligently volunteered their time at the SPCA, namely taking care of and rehabilitating animals that have been abused and who required a lot of comfort and care.
 
The goodwill gesture of our students was recognized by the SPCA when the SoF recently received the Most Supportive Pet Care Program Participants award from DYMM Tengku Permaisuri Selangor, Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin. The award ceremony was held at the welcoming pet-friendly premises of the SPCA Ampang recently, in conjunction with World Animal Day.

 
Lee Wen Han, a student who participated in the programme shared his good experience in this programme, “Taking part in this program has really opened my eyes to the fact that pets really do need love just as much as we do. Seeing how they are so scared to even leave the kennel after being abused by their previous owners breaks me. I am indeed very grateful to SPCA and APU for opening up the opportunity for me to volunteer and help build a better environment for them to continue growing”.
  
Well done to all students and staff who participated in the programme; it was a good effort in nurturing caring citizens of the future!

Providing students with high quality learning activities in relevant situations beyond the walls of the classroom is vital for helping students appreciate their first hand experiences in learning. 

In light with this view, the Academic Research Skills (ARS) module team from School of Foundation (SoF) initiated an excursion to the FRIM, Kepong. FRIM sits on a 545-ha site which is one of the leading institutions in tropical forestry research in the world. It was founded in 1929 and gazette as a “Natural Heritage Site” in 2009. During the trip, students were shown various species of floras that are used in conducting researches through biotechnological approaches. Students were also introduced to researches that develop technologies in providing solutions to environmental issues. The researchers also shared information about developing key scientific knowledge in safeguarding the ecosystem. In brief, the three-tower-canopy walkway enlightened the students on the potentials of forest research in helping and saving mankind.

It was an extraordinary experience for the students as they learnt to conduct research not only in the classrooms, but also in real-life and outdoor applications. Kudos to the team who organised this, we look forward to seeing more interactive learning experiences like this in the future!

More than 25 School of Foundation (SOF) students from the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation were involved in an animal welfare and care learning programme at the new, animal friendly, and welcoming surroundings at the SPCA premises in Ampang.  

This is a continuing volunteer programme that began in January 2016 and will continue throughout this year. Organised by SOF, the objective is about giving back to society as well understanding animal behaviour and care. Caring for animals is not something that most of the students are used to. Therefore it was only natural that there was some anxiety followed by enthusiasm and by the time the day was over, the smiles and elation on the faces of the Foundation students said it all. 

Our volunteers first attended a short education programme and then had the opportunity to practice some of the skills learnt like taking the dogs for walks, cleaning up kennels and the surroundings, feeding animals.  

As a gesture of appreciation to the SPCA, Dr Sarvinder Kaur (SOF Head of School), Ms Abhhirami, and Mr Vijay Reddy (Senior Manager, Special Projects) presented pet food well as old newspapers which the SPCA so desperately needs for its use. Students of the SOF deserve to be applauded for contributing to a noble cause. The dedicated and tireless efforts of the staff and volunteers of SPCA must be commended.

About SPCA (www.spca.org.my)
SPCA Selangor is an animal welfare organisation based in Ampang Jaya, Selangor. The aim of the SPCA is to protect defenseless animals and to alleviate their suffering. In addition,  SPCA provides an adoption program, investigation of cruelty reports, humane education, assistance to community animal caregivers and run a dedicated, low-cost spay/ neuter clinic.